Each year in the United States, school district officials spend significant time and effort evaluating teacher effectiveness. Teacher evaluation procedures have evolved through the years from a process by which local officials monitored teacher practices to assure conformity to one in which teachers and administrators work collaboratively using…

The need for evaluating teachers' performance is ongoing; only recently it has been done in a systematic way. The most common method employed is a teacher evaluation tool that has been validated in practice. Such a tool is the Danielson framework for teaching (FFT). The FFT is used to evaluate teachers in Illinois, among other states; in that…

Since 2009, the Educative Teacher Performance Assessment (edTPA) has been rapidly implemented as a policy tool for strengthening teacher professionalization across the United States. However, its national assimilation has become a target for both praise and critique among teacher educators. In this article, we examine such diverse perspectives.…

The current educational climate of increased accountability requires school principals to improve student learning for all students, implement national and state policies, maintain a positive culture, provide professional development, and supervise and evaluate faculty members. In order to improve learning in schools, education reform mandates…

The rise of high-stakes, standardized, teacher performance assessments (TPAs) is central to the industry being created out of the regulation, policing, and evaluation of university-based teacher education In addition to reinforcing a narrow and counter-critical framework, TPAs can shift responsibility for the evaluation of teacher candidates from…

The purpose of this study was focused on the various perceived impacts created by the expansion to a four-tier teacher performance evaluation rating model which would inform educational leaders in the State of Illinois. By studying the experiences of principals in two other states who previously underwent the same change, Florida and…

This study examines the perceptions, attitudes and beliefs of administrators and teachers in a Southwestern Illinois School District regarding the recent reforms in teacher performance evaluation. This study uses a qualitative approach and provides data from individual and focus group interviews to determine the extent to which the district is…

Starting in 2012-13, researchers have worked in partnership with Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) to study implementation of Chicago's new teacher evaluation system: Recognizing Educators Advancing Chicago's Students (REACH). This paper presents findings as well as experiences from the collaboration with CPS and…

In the spring of 2014, Chicago educators met to reflect on the opportunities and challenges for progressive, democratic education in Chicago-area schools. This article weaves together the writings of teachers and principals from over 15 public schools and a couple of private and parochial schools who are thinking about their own experiences in…

In the 2012-2013 school year, Chicago Public Schools unveiled its new teacher evaluation system in all of its almost 600 schools. This study draws on 32 interviews from a random sample of teachers and 2 years of survey data from more than 12,000 teachers per year to measure their perceptions of the clarity, practicality, and cost of the new…

This report focuses on the perceptions and experiences of teachers and administrators during the first year of REACH implementation, which was in many ways a particularly demanding year. These experiences can be helpful to Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and to other districts across the country as they work to restructure and transform teacher…

In December 2015, President Barack Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which replaced No Child Left Behind (NCLB), as the nation's major law governing public schools. ESSA retains the requirement that states test all students in reading and math in grades three through eight and once in high school, as well as the requirement that…

Teacher quality is the most crucial component in promoting student learning. For all the controversy about No Child Left Behind, one underlying emphasis of the federal law that is irrefutable is the importance placed on teacher quality. Therefore, a school organization committed to excellence must recruit and select outstanding teachers. The Obama…

Researchers have raised a number of questions about whether student achievement data can be used fairly or accurately for purposes of teacher evaluation. Others have noted that achievement data alone cannot provide teachers with the information they need to improve their practice. Recognizing these limitations, the federal government and many…

THE IMPACT OF INTENSIVE TRAINING IN A SUMMER GUIDANCE INSTITUTE UPON VARIOUS COUNSELING ATTITUDES AND PRACTICES WITHIN THE JUNIOR AND SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL EDUCATIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS WAS INVESTIGATED. THE SUMMER PROGRAM WAS HELD FOR ABOUT 30 TEACHERS FROM DIFFERENT SCHOOLS THROUGHOUT THE STATE. THESE SCHOOLS DIFFERED WIDELY IN…